Western Civilization
Rome and Italy
The early city of Rome was small but its growing population required more land in order to meet the expansion of its people. This fueled a drive for the acquisition of new territory. The overtaking of Italy was however, not immediate.
The reason why Rome was so successful compared to others such as the Etruscans was due to them using a combination of brains and brawn. The Etruscans and others lacked the social grace that the Romans incorporated into their lifestyle. The Etruscan cities were independent states that shared a language and a religion but never formed a political unit. The Roman government was much more politically stable (Radice, 1982). They used reason and often made compromises to settle conflict rather than just the use of brute force.
Rome made very few of their conquered "citizens" of Rome, but a lot were considered privileged subjects. Rome required taxation from its subjects which helped to finance its army. Rome also granted freedom and citizenship to slaves more often than to those people it conquered. One very important aspect of their mindset in conquering others was the acceptance of other belief systems. This must have made the transition of the conquered easier than if they acted primarily as brute conformists (Radice, 1982).
The Romans took time to develop their armies and taught them to use a variety of weaponry as well as gain battle skills usable in various terrains. They organized their military into small units that were very successful in fighting in the mountain areas. They systematically dominated the Etruscans (in the North), the Samnites (central Italy) and then they began to conquer the Greek cities (south of the Bay of Naples). Rome's control by 266 BC included the lands of Italy from the North to the most Southern tip. Rome's citizens were composed of a highly adaptable society. Their government was both well structured and excellent at negotiations (Radice, 1982).
References
Radice., B. (1982). Rome and Italy: books VI-X of the history of Rome from its foundation. Harmondsworth. New York, N.Y.
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